Sir Stephen Topham Hatt
Sir Stephen Topham Hatt (born April 9, 1965) is the fourth controller of the North Western Railway, and the third controller to be a member of the Hatt family. Also known as the Fat Controller, he was famous for his rambunctious behavior in his earlier years, but has since become one of the most respected individuals in the United Kingdom, despite having an in-feud with the North Western Railway Board. Biography Born to Sir Charles Topham Hatt II and Jane Brown Hatt in April of 1965, he grew up rich, going to some of the best schools in England. However, he was not a good student, being a C student, and left High School to pursue a career as a Railway Worker. After that plan fell through, he started experimenting with drugs. In 1985, Charles finally convinced Stephen to return to High School. Despite his drug addiction, he managed to get good grades and graduate the following year. Stephen then decided to enroll in the Wellsworth University of Business. He met Peregrine Percival there, and even though Percival was 3 years his junior, they became good friends. However, the luck was not to last, as Stephen started taking more and more drugs, and was often late for classes because of it. On a cold, winter night in 1987, Peregrine Percival was heading to his home on campus when he saw a wine bottle get thrown out of the window of Hatt's Wellsworth Apartment. Percival, worried, decided to enter the apartment building to see if Stephen was okay. He walked up to the 3rd floor, where Stephen's room was located, and saw that his apartment's door was wide open, and that smoke was billowing out of it. He saw Stephen, drunk and surrounded by open pill bottles and empty cigar boxes, leaning back over his bed, coughing. Percival carried him out of the building and drove him to the Wellsworth Medical Hospital. Stephen was expelled from the University the next day. This did not stop Stephen from being an addict, as he kept trying to get stronger drugs to boost his moral. Percival, a hater of smoking and illegal drugs, decided he couldn't see his friend disintegrate into nothing and left the University, his family, and the Island as a whole. To fill the gap left by Percival, he became friends with a drug dealer who called himself "the Count." He gave numerous drugs to Stephen in large quantities, the most powerful of them all being one called "Frenzy." He quickly became addicted, but unknowingly to him, it was causing him to feel pain in larger quantities than usual. When he was hungry, instead of eating what was necesary to feed him, he ate twise the amount. This even affected his usage of "Frenzy" itself, as he often injected himself with the drug numerous times during a day. In the middle of the summer of 1989, he injected himself with the drug "Frenzy" 24 times during a single day. He decided to visit his father, Charles, that same day but was never able to meet with him, as he passed out on the Hatt's front doorstep. Jane Hatt heard a large thump come from outside, and she was shocked to see Stephen passed out on the ground. Charles performed CPR on Stephen for almost an hour and a half until the medics arrived. He was in the hospital for the next year. Charles, feeling guilty for not being the father he should've been, decided to try and help Stephen put himself back together. He bought him a house, hired a butler to work for him, and even planned daily visits with him. Stephen had kicked hard drugs by the time 1992 was over, and gave up cigarettes and the bottle as well in 1994. Charles, now an old man over the age of 75, decided to prepare him for the job that was Controller of the North Western Railway. He taught him everything he knew, from railway rules and regulations to the names of the NWR's workers to all recorded contracts with other companies to the designs of all the engines the NWR owned. However, even after Charles taught Stephen all of that, he still thought that he wasn't ready for the job. It was not until Charles' death in 1997 that Stephen officially became the controller of the North Western Railway. As controller, he has expanded the railway numerous times, which includes the Ffarquhar Branch Line and the Skarloey Narrow Gauge Railway. He also has promoted numerous engines, such as Thomas, to higher positions and reunited with his old friend Peregrine Percival after more than 25 years of them being apart. However, Sir Topham Hatt has been accused of being "dictator-like" and of "abusing his power for his own personal gain, as well as his own opinions." The North Western Railway Board have spoken out numerous times about Hatt's "iron-fisted" leadership, and none of the members have been as vocal as Bruce Clayton. "The Boss" has often brought up the fact that Sir Topham Hatt constructed the Skarloey Railway illegally, as he started construction after the Railway Board stated that such plans were "outrageous" and "unnecessary." Sir Stephen has admitted numerous times that he has occasionally been harsh about his decision making, but that the construction of the Skarloey Railway was not one of them. Personality Known to be a less-than-adequate public speaker, he is known to lack confidence while in public places. Despite this, he is often decisive, straight to the point, blunt, and intellectual when making important decisions. Yet, he is not afraid to ask friends for advice, as he did with his father, his secretary (Jasmine), his butler (Sigmund), and his co-workers. Sir Topham Hatt, however, does not like talking about his father, as he feels that since his father did not let him be controller until after his death, he is not worthy of the position. This can cause him to briefly go back to his old habits, which include smoking, drinking, and eating junk food. However, these incidents only last (at most) 30 minutes. He is bald, losing all of his hair when he almost died in 1989. He wears a wig to hide this fact. Appearances: '''Season 1: '''Thomas Helps Out, Rickety's Ridiculous Ruckus, Marks of Distinction, Duncan Explodes for Christmas (all parts), A Diesel Railway (both parts), Black Lung (both parts) Trivia *Sir Stephen Topham Hatt's birth date differentiates than that of the Railway Series. This is intentional, as the Railway Series' plot-line and Sudrian Tales' plot-line's are different.